Chris Diaz has published "Using Static Site Generators for Scholarly Publications and Open Educational Resources" in the Code4Lib Journal.
Here's an excerpt:
Static site generators build websites from plain-text files. Most are free to use and are available under an open source license [1]. They are often described in comparison to content management system (CMS) software, like WordPress or Drupal. CMS websites use database processes on a web server to dynamically create HTML on demand. Static site generators, however, perform all of the plain-text-to-HTML processing before the files are deployed online. This preprocessing workflow removes the need for high-touch system administration, database installations, server-side processing, and security patching, reducing the need for full-time developers and system administrators for digital publishing services. These advantages make static site hosting, maintenance, and preservation more affordable and sustainable for small teams.
Northwestern University Libraries began using static site generators for our digital publishing service in 2018. We initially licensed the Digital Commons platform from Bepress to support our open access publishing services, but the Elsevier acquisition made us question our reliance on proprietary software and motivated us to consider open source alternatives (Schonfeld 2018). At the same time, interest in open source software for library publishing was growing (Library Publishing Coalition 2018). This article reflects on our use of two open source static site generators for library publishing, including an overview and evaluation of the technologies while focusing on two popular use cases: scholarly publications and open educational resources.
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